Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part B

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder

Caption: The King of the Fairy's

Link: http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Twenty-Two-Goblins/Arthur-W-Ryder/9781625588869

Notes: 

Something I didn't catch/mention in the notes for part A is that the story mentions how the king never wavered in his task. The story hinges on his continuing to answer and get the goblin again and again, and instead of tiring, the king keeps on without discouragement. 

This type of storytelling uses a lot of metaphoric/descriptive character naming. Hariswami means Lion/One of the names of Vishnu + male hindu religious teacher. Many of the lady names were Beautiful, Moonlight, or something along those lines. There was also a name of Clean-Cloth...? Very interesting. 

Also, it was the luck of the draw whether the story the goblin told ended in death or happily ever after. There really wasn't any in-between.

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins, Part A

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder

Caption: A Book of Riddles

Link: https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/twenty-two-goblins/used/

Notes: 

This book is riddled with tales for a brave king. Each story comes with an ending and a choice. The king must speak regardless, however, for if he knows yet does not speak, his head will explode. How about that?

A story based upon this one would most certainly require a decision to be made on the part of the reader/listener. It doesn't have to involve a monk and a king or even a goblin. The story would just require some thinking. 

Week 5 Story: Sam, Charlie, the Navy, and the Camel

Bibliography: Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang. Link

Authors Note: Arabian Nights is a story about a story about a story which eventually comes back to the original story. The girl, Scheherazade, facing death decides to spin a tale so interesting and clever that when time is up the Sultan cannot help but let her live to continue the next day. For this post I took Scheherazade's concept of recursion and made a story that models that type of storytelling.

The camel story included is based upon a true story my daddy told me about one of his many adventures in the United States Navy.

Caption: Grandpa telling a story

Link: https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/grandpa-grandson.html

Finally, the day had come where Sam's oldest grandson, Charlie, was old enough to listen to a story. Sam had often prepared and dreamed for the day when he could sit Charlie on his lap with a nice Dr. Pepper on the table and spin a tale to win the affection of his grandson for all time. At the prompting of the child's small voice saying, "Tell a story grandpa?" he was ready to spring into a world so enamoring that Charlie would never want to get off his lap. 

"Alright, Charlie, come on up here and get comfortable. There you go, take your shoes off and get comfy. Our story begins on a Navy ship. This is the kind of ship with men and women dressed in white with the white caps. One of the days out to sea, everything was working properly, a rare occasion you see, and the crew in charge of the large electrical room had nothing to do. The food on the ship was rationed well, so they could not go eat. There was no entertainment at the time, either, so they were in a pickle."

"Wait," said Charlie, "How are the people in a pickle? Pickles are not big enough for people to be in.."

"Ah, you are correct, Charlie. This pickle is a metaphor. It means that they needed to find something to do. To get themselves out of the boredom 'pickle', Johnson, the leader of the crew remembered a story he had heard on the ship's last tour to the Middle East."

"What kind of story, Johnson? Only if it isn't another war story," said Petty Officer Burnt. 

"No no no, it isn't like that at all. Just listen. There was once a Liberty where the ship had an awful smell, and all the crewmen unnecessary to fix the problem were made to land. There was nothing to do in this city but to sit in this little cantina in the middle of the desert and look out at all the dirt. Presently one of the party spotted a camel, and for lack of anything better to do and as camel's are not normal to see in The States, the seamen fixed their eyes on this animal. At first, it didn't do much. It just chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed, and the company soon forgot they were watching it. This was, however, until one of the Petty Officers presently started laughing uncontrollably!"

"What in the world are you laughing at, Petty Officer? Speak up man!" the oldest in the party said. 

"It's just, that camel! I was watching it, and a man passed by. When the man came upon the camel, the beast slobbered all over his head! The man was surprised and taken aback, and he walked away with his hair drenched. He was not happy at all!" said the Petty Officer. 

                          

Caption: The Spitting Image

Link: http://wanderingtheworldphotography.com/spitting-image-facts-about-camels/

At this account, the crew fixed their eyes on the camel once more. Presently, a lady with a burka came passing by and AGAIN the camel spit on her even worse than he did the man! OH this company had the best time watching the camel spit on unknowing passersby. The Petty Officer who first saw the sight said to himself when the day was over, "This will be a great story to tell my kids someday."

"That was a nice story Johnson, thanks for the recount," said another Petty Officer. 

"Your welcome, it was based off a true story my buddy Sam told me."

At this, Charlie looked at his grandpa and asked, "Were you the officer who saw the camel, grandpa?"

"Ha, I was son, and it is actually your mom's favorite story from my days in the Navy." said Sam. He thought to himself that telling this story to Charlie was worth the wait. 

Reading Notes: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Part A

Bibliography: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Notes: 

Disclaimer - My part A goes from the start of the sweet little book to the poppy field/mouse queen help.

Caption: "Poppies will stop them, and their little dog too."

Link: http://www.masamor-luxuryvillarentals.com/spring-poppy-tour-early-may-poppy-tour-for-private-party-2/

Dorothy is younger in this story. She can't be more than 12 years old unlike the beautiful movie. She still meets the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion, and they still want a brain, a heart, and some courage respectively. However, in the book, Baum explains why the scarecrow and the tin man are wanting a heart and a brain, and the tin man's story is so sad. I won't say it, however, because the book is an easy read if you ever cared to look at it (Link above in bibliography).

When they head into the poppy's, Dorothy and the Lion along with Toto fall asleep. Now, instead of Glenda the good witch helping, there is a monarch mouse that the tin man saved from a cat, and she has her subjects help them pull the Lion out of the poppies. It is a good read, and I enjoyed this half much.

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part B

Bibliography: Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang. Link

Notes: 

I can tell while reading this story that the Disney movie certainly came from it. Though, like every movie, there had to be some characters and events left out and some made up for some reason. I could still picture the movie quite well. 

Knowing the movie before the book is backwards than what Hollywood has done. However, if you were to write a book based on a movie, then you could add your own stories to cushion the plot. This would be a lovely way to write a story, I do believe.

Caption: Mutual Creation

Link: http://www.booksincommon.org/featuring-the-film-how-book-adaptations-get-patrons-reading/

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part A

Bibliography: Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang. Link

Notes:

Caption: Infinite Recursion
Link: https://giphy.com/gifs/recursion-kNhC5VxNjPbvq

The big idea of this section is inception. The story is a story which tells a story which tells a story and then sometimes tells another story. All the stories have a happy ending, because Scheherazade is hoping her sultan will spare her life and giver her a happy ending as well. She addresses her stories to him, and her story hero's address the ones who wish to kill them in their storytelling. It is recursive (relating to or involving a program or routine of which a part requires the application of the whole, so that its explicit interpretation requires in general many successive executions) with the main part being successive executions. Scheherazade's story will "return", if you will, until she comes back to her own story and it completes itself with a hopeful happy ending.


This type of storytelling is interesting, well thought out, and strategic in such a way that you must continue to listen. If I were to base a story off of Arabian Nights, I would just make a whole new story to put other stories inside of.

Caption: ReCATsion
Link: https://giphy.com/gifs/cat-infinity-XkDyB1jCZMxUs/download

Comment Wall

Link to Storybook:

Toto's Adventures in Oz


Caption: Love it
Link: http://www.retroplanet.com/PROD/32817.html

Week 3 Story: The Tragedy of Cupid and Psyche

Author's Note:

Cupid and Psyche is a love story based upon Cupid, Venus's son, the arrow wielding god of love, and Psyche a mere mortal with beauty that rivaled even Venus's fair form. When the towns and villages begin worshiping Psyche instead of Venus, Venus is enraged and orders her son to make her fall in love with someone awful. Little does she know, that when Psyche's parents leaves her on a cliff to surely die in matrimony, Cupid brings her to live with him, though, he only comes to her in the dark of night. One night, Psyche saw her love and hurt him with hot wax (accidentally).When Venus heard of this, she was enraged and put Psyche through a series of tasks to hopefully kill her. When she didn't die, Cupid swooped her up, bid her to finish her last task, and made everything right by marrying her in front of all the gods. Everything worked out for the hero and heroine. But what would have happened if Psyche had been scythed in the river Styx, if Cupid had been so ill that he never got up to save his love, or if Venus would have never given her the tasks, but immediately carried out her sentence? Read on.

Caption on the Picture

Link: http://obvil.paris-sorbonne.fr/corpus/mythographie/bulfinch_age-of-fable_1855_images/bulfinch_age-of-fable_1855_122.png

"Finally, you have come into my presence to face the fate you wove in your bosom," Venus explained vehemently, "To me you prostrate yourself, to your mother-in-law by the most illegitimate of natures. Did you think I would welcome you at the thought of your bravery? No. Yet, now you are here, I will make an example out of you yet. Take these many beans which I am mixing, and sort them before nightfall. If not, you will be at the mercy of my hand."

Psyche tried and tried to sort the heap. Hour after hour passed, and still she had half the stack left. Time was closing in on her! She went faster and faster, still no progress had been made by the time Venus waltzed through the door with her wedding feast gown after a night of fanfare. Psyche did not speak. Perhaps if she stayed so still, the lady would go to sleep and bother her no more for the night. Alas, it could not be so for our star-crossed fair friend. "Ah," Venus said with an edge in her eyes, "I see that you did not take me as serious as I'd thought. Pain will be your companion tonight. You, my unfortunate slave!" With this, a tingle started down Psyche's back, rushing towards her toes. In an instant her body was inflamed with spikes of fire. "Help! Help oh Venus, stop the pain! If only I could have done what you asked, but try and try I could not! Please!" But her cries were unheard. And Venus slumbered, pleased with herself for her triumph.

When the morning came, Psyche's pain ceased. She rested for what seemed like minutes, when in reality it actually was just minutes. Venus came storming in, ready to give Psyche the next impossible task. "Psyche, today before the sun sets, you are to gather the gold from the wool of the sheep by the water. Remember your night, lest you come back empty handed." So Psyche went to the waters edge, but Venus neglected to tell her the nature of the beasts. They were angry in the sun, and the sun was shining full. She approached the smallest she could find, and wham it prodded her with its sharp horn. She leaped back, favoring her thigh, for that is where the creature hit. She came back empty handed and the second night with Venus was the same. A number of days, Venus gave Psyche these tasks, yet no one would help her, and the number of nights she spent in agonizing pain.

Caption: The gold wool Psyche wishes she could have gotten.

Link: http://www.colourstreams.com.au/store/merino-wool-tops-new-gold-823.html

Through all this, Cupid longed for Psyche, but he was too weak to move to her. The injury to his shoulder was not healing, and ambrosia had been stayed from him by his mother. She did not want him to heal and so be let to go to his love. Had Venus seen his condition and his pain, surely she would have relented. Yet her anger towards Psyche has taken her eyes from Cupid. In his last breath, he wished for a servant of Venus to write this letter to his wife:

Dear Psyche,

My love, I am no more. You will doubtless be subject to my mother's wrath, and I can only believe it is my fault. Should you have married an old mortal man with no love, that life should have favored you more. Yet, since it is not so, I give you this arrow. Perhaps, if you should take it and prick my mother with its tip, she may grow less in anger with you and let you to the mortal world again. Try my love. You were the best of all the women.

Cupid

The servant brought this letter in secret to Psyche on the worst of the nights. Exhausted, Psyche took the letter and read it aloud. She was heartbroken and struck that her husband lay dying all this time and she was never able to touch him, to be with him. She took the arrow with a newfound strength and attempted to thrust it into Venus's heart, yet Venus caught her at the last moment, plunging it into Psyche's heart. Psyche was no more. And thus, both lovers were for naught, and there was no happy ending to be found.

"Cupid and Psyche" by Apuleius and retold by Tony Kline : Link

Tech Tip: Canvas Mobile App

Tech Tip for the week: Canvas for mobile

I have had the Canvas app for a year now, and it has helped so much with due dates, homework, reading deadlines, and syllabus questions. On the go, I can bring up the app and do homework even when my computer is dead.

Caption: Canvas Theme

Link: http://www.lindenwood.edu/academics/support-resources/information-technology/it-applications/canvas/

I still think I like D2L better, but Canvas is growing on me. It helps with time management in a different way than I thought it would.

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche - Part B

Caption: Psyche in the Underworld by Paul Alfred de Curzon

Link: https://nefchronicles.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/cupid-and-psyche-love-and-transformation/

Notes:

So, Cupid and Psyche's offspring is a girl. In my last notes, I guessed it was going to be a boy. Just for future reference. 

This half of the story had more action. There was an unhappily married woman scorned, an illegitimate husband who was indisposed, a maiden whose wish was to die or have her husband, and a stolen lady who escaped on a donkey, guess what, to go marry her husband.

The story was a love story of sorts. I can see the Cinderella and Snow White themes trickled in every once in a while. Also, it was a happily ever after ending. Cupid married Psyche, and someone mentioned to her that it would be forever. The captured maiden and the donkey, Lucius got away, and everything turned out the best way that it could have. 

It would be interesting to tell this story in a way where nothing turned out right. I believe that will be my goal with the writing assignment.

"Cupid and Psyche" by Apuleius and retold by Tony Kline : Link

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part A

"Cupid and Psyche" by Apuleius and retold by Tony Kline : Link

Caption: Psyche and the Night Crawler

Link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/323414816961625883/?lp=true

Notes: 

The story starts to rise with a trip to the Oracle. This brings the story to a place where the foreshadowing is very explicit. You know early on that Psyche is not going to have a very nice fate, and still I, at least, found myself rooting for her in her innocence. 

If there was to be a moral in this first half of the story, I would pin it on "Actions taken due to jealousy easily backfire." Not only did Psyche's sisters meet a fatal end due to their cruelty, but Venus's request that Cupid have Psyche marry someone despicable caused Cupid to fall in love with Psyche himself. I'm sure the next reading will disclose the fact that Venus will not be very happy to hear this news. 

I would want this story to continue with their son, a demi-god and hopefully not a fire-breathing town destroyer. He would be an interesting addition to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. He could have wings like his dad and a touch that would melt any heart. It sounds a little sappy, I think, for me to write well. However, I'm sure Riordan could figure it out.